Automatically-operated safety gates



I Feb. 9 1926.

1,572,665 VV.T.MDUFFEE AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED SAFETY GATES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 6, 1925 v mm%mmzzzzlllll! hall I- A RNEY Feb. 9 1926. 1,572,665

. W. T. M DUFFEE AUTOMATICALLY OPERATED SAFETY GATES I Filed Jan. 6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

amino WILIZI'AM THOMAS Mahatma, or rnN'sAooLA, FLORIDA.

iiiiilie''tioii fil'd Jamarye 1925 say-n1 No. 783.

To all "whom it may 00027062 12 Be it known that NH-Mart THOMAS MolhJFFFlGE-y acitizen of the United States, residing at Pensacola, Escambia County, State of Floridanhas invented certain-new and useful Improvements in- Automatically-01)- erated- Safety Gates; of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.-

The, present il'ivention relates generally to automatic sat-etyfdeviees andisgmore especially directed to improvements in gates, for railroad crossings and other places where saifeguards of this-type maybe found necessary or desirable. 1

5 For the purposes of thepresent disclosure, I shall describe my invention in a s'pecilic app-lication, tlrat is; as used in theproteo tion of arail-road grade crossing.

As is well known; various terms of automatically actuated protective devices have been devised ir'or those 'rai'lroa'd crossings in out-lyiii -sections' where the cross traiiic does not warrant the cost of maintenance of manually opera'ted gates or watchman or a Signalman. These usually have been operated electrically or hydraulically and have been of a inore or less complicated construction with the attendant lack of dey pehdahility in operation. Owingjto the high cost of installation and maintenance, .the latter involving the employment of skilled labor in supervision and inspecti0n, protective devices of the aforesaid types have not been generally adopted to any apprecia bl'e extent by the railroad organizationsi The general object of the present invention is to provide an automatically operating mechanism for lowering and raising the g'ates at railroad grade crossings, which will overcome the objections to present types of structlu'es in a simple aiideconomical manner;

It is a further object of my invention to piovide a gate for railroti d crossings; to gether with mechanism for automatically controlling the functioning thereof, \vhiolr will embody relativelysmall 1m n er of elements s'irassooialed as to ii'isiii'e depend 1 ability in operation;

My inventionfurther eonteinplatesa rail: road crossing gate which is lnec'han'ica v operated to l'ohtzred or rai ed position by the approaching or passing trin' wherein the costvof-" i comparatively small Competent upervision 6015 of t being within the province of the ordinary section hand-s.

Other objects and advantages flowing from the use of my invention will presentthemselves as the description proceeds, and I would have it understood that I reserve unto myself all rights to the full range of equivalents, both instructure and in use, to

which I may be entitled under my invention in its broadest aspect. i I

In orderjto present aclear CllSClOSUlG of the method otpracticing my invention, I

have elected to illustrate and describe a preferr ed-embodiment thereof, as applied to the-protection off agrade railroad crossing, wherein single line of track is used for traffic in both directions. It will be ob- V'ioiis, however, that changes in details of structure and arrangement 01- parts may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims. I I

In" the accom'p anying drawings:

7 Figure his a side" elevation of a section of track with crossinggates and actuating mechanism madein accordance with my in ventionassociated therewith.

Figure 2Vis a plan view of the, structure shown in Figure 1, the gates being in lowered position.

Figure 3- is an enlarged View, in per'speo tive; of the gate lowering mechanism.

Figure 4 is similar view of the mechanism for raising the gate.

Figure 5 is a: section on the line 55 of Figure 2.

,Figure' 6' is asection on the line 6-'6 of Figure' 5; and 7 Figures 7 and 8 are sectional details on the? lines 7''(' and 88 of Figure 2.

Reterringnow to the drawings in detail, in which like characters of reference are e'inpioye'd to designate si'n'iilar parts throughout the several views, 10 indicates the usual rafi ls which are laid upon and Spiked to the ties 1]. iii accordance with established practire: v i

The gate 1%ri liioh preferably of the coiuiterlitlairce type li aviiiig; the dependent guru-(rs 12 is ated. at the side of the track so to obstructor close the crossing when- 'ered, by the rotat" n of its supporting it IS ;l4="carried 0Y1 the theiriafi attire "described.

The lowering of the gate 12 is designed to be effected when the approaching train is several hundred feet from the crossing to be protected, and to this end I provide an actuating mechanism which is adapted to be functioned by the pilot wheels of the loco motive, the gate remaining in lowered position until the rear truck of the last car passes a predetermined distance beyond the crossing The aforesaid actuating mechanism coinprises a trigger 15 which is pivotally mounted at 16 within a recess 17 provided in the rail section 17, as clearly shown in Figure 5.

Having bearings in the opposite walls of the recessed rail section and below the trigger 15, is a shortshaft 18, the intermediate portion of which is offset or in the form of a throw .8. Mounted on the outer end of the aforesaid shaft 18, to rotate therewitln s a forked or bifurcated member 19 having its armsQO and 21 disposedin a plane parallel to thatof the shaft- 18.

Pivotally' connected to the arm at 22, is rod 28reciprocable within the sleeve 24, the said rod carrying an expansion spring the ends of which bear against the head of the sleeve 2t and the shoulder-'23 of the rod A link or rod 28, fixed to the sleeve 2-it as by pins 27 or the like so as to be in effect integral therewith. parallels the rails for operative connection to the throw 28 of the transverse shaft 29 which is connected to the gate shaft 123 through the medium of the links 3 31 and 32 the latter of which'functions as an equalizeand embodies a. sleeve 33 fixed to the rod 3-1, a spring 85 being interposed between the inner shouldered end and the bottom of the latter;

Disposed transversely of the track and hz-rving hearings in the trigger housing rail section 17 and its opposite rail section 37, which, like rail section 1'7, is recessed at 3?, is a shaft 38,'the end thereof which extends out 'ardly of the/rail section 17 being prm'ided with an upwardlyand forwardly directed oti'sct forming a hook 39. The other end of said shaft 38 which projects beyond the rail section 37, is likewise offset a. shown at -10, a throw 41 being formed in said shaft which is located for movement within the recess 37 of the rail section 37;- (Sce Fi ure A tri 1-42, which may be termed the release t liter to differentiate from the function of the trigger 15 whereby the lowering of the gate is effected, is pivotally mounted within the slot or recess 37 of the rail section 37, its free end, similarly to the trigger 15, having a chamfered top surface; this trigger being adapted to engage the throw ell of the'shaft 38 to rock the latter in opposition to the spring -13 fixed; to the arm 4 1 of t e offset 40 and anchored to one of the rod 36 sliding within the sleeve,-

of the ties asshown at 45. A spring 16, connected to the arm 20 of the bifurcated member 19, the function of which will hereinafter beIOine apparent, is likewise positively sccured to a tie 11, as at 46. V

The structure thus far described is shown at the left hand side of Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings and embodies the gate lowering mechanism actuated by a train moving in the direction of the arrow A and the means whereby the gates are permitted to rise or ascend after a train moving in the opposite direction passes the protected crossing.

The mechanism adapted to be actuated by the aforesaid triggers and i2 duplicated at theright hand side of Figures 1 and 2, the triggers 4:7 and 48 corresponding to the triggers 15 and 42 respectively in construction and in function.

It will be "observedthat a rod 49 connects the extension 44 of the shaft 38 actuated by the trigger48 to the outwardly disposed throw 50 of the transverse shaft 51, while the throw 52 at the. other end of said shaft 51 is linked to the extension 44 of shaft 38 associated with the trigger 42, by a rod 53 Assumingthat a. train is approaching the crossingin the direction of the arrow A, the pilot wheels of the locomotive on successively coming in contact with the normally angularly disposed or inclined trig, gers 15 and 42will depressthem within their respective rail sections, the depression of the trigger 15 causing it to engage the throw '18 and rock the shaft 18. 1 This results in an arcuate i'novement of the arm 20 of the bifurcated member 19 in an up ward direction which exerts a pull upon the rod 26 connected to the throw 28, and effects the lowering of the gates through the medium of the common cross shaft 29 and thefconnectiiig linkage, the yield-able con-- nection between the rods and 26 compen eating for any sudden thrusts or jars iniposed' upon-the mechanism and insuring a steady movement of the gates to their ultimate position. I 1

As the trigger 42 is depressed, the shaft '28, the throw 41 of which isengaged there by'is rotated against the tension of the spring 413, whereby the arm or extension 14 moves upwardly through ashort are and pulls the rod 58;- This movement of the rod 53 rocks the shaft 51 which, in'turn, through the medium of the connection 50, delivers a thrust to therod 49 which rotates the shaft 58 to bring the hook 39' adjacent the trigger 47, into engagement with the de pressed. arm 21, the gates being therebv positively locked in'lowered position until released by the passage of the't-rain.

As the trigger 48 is depressed by the wheels traversing the same the shaft 38" ill beroclnadto raise thehook 3}? out of .nism comprising a pair of recessed rail sections located on each side of the crossing and distant therefrom, astrigger rockably mounted within ,each of said sections, means of connection between the gates and a trigger on each side of the crossing, said means embodying rigid rotatable and reciprocable members, whereby the depression of either of said latter triggers by a train or the like approaching the crossing, will actuate said connecting means to lower said gates, and means connected to the remaining trigger on each side of the crossing for locking the gates in lowered position, the depression of the locking trigger first engaged by the wheels of the vehicle traversing the rails, effecting the locking of the gates in lowered position, the gate actuating mechanism being released for raising the gates, as the locking mechanism trigger at the opposite side of the crossing is relievedof the pressure of the vehicle traversing the rails.

6. The combination with a single track of a railroad having grade crossings, of protective gates for said crossings and means cont-rolled by the movement of a vehicle alongsaid track for raising and lowering said gates, said means comprising mechanism embodying a pressure actuated element located on each side of a crossing and distant therefrom, and mechanism forlocking the gates in lowered position, said lockingleased and successively raised when the vehicle has traversed the crossing.

WILLIAM THOMAS MoDUFFEE. 

